Raines has been on the ballot for six years, and during that time his vote percentage has gone from 24.3 in . While he never reached those heights again, Guidry had four top-five Cy Young finishes, made four All-Star games and won five straight Gold Gloves in the 1980s. Cooper was a main cog in the great Brewers teams of the 1980s, batting third in the lineup behind Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Robin Yount. However, the big man known as "Mule" also batted for a high average, regularly hitting between .300 and .400 each season. While he was one of the best players in the league during that time, he didn't maintain that excellence for a long period of time. Because of this and a quick downfall to his production after age 35, Hodges amassed only 1,921 hits. He finished with a career record of 193-121 but had an ERA of 4.04. His best years came between 1983 and 1987 when he made all five of his All-Star appearances, won four Silver Slugger and three Gold Glove Awards. Some players are kept out because of theirtemperament, some didn't have a long enough peak and others are just totallyunderappreciated. Wood led the Red Sox to the 1912 World Series behind a record of 34-5. Harder may never have been a dominant pitcher, but he was incredibly reliable over a career that started while Babe Ruth was in his heyday and ended after World War II. Thome played 22 years in the league. Below is the list of 254 Major League Baseball players who have reached the 2,000 hit milestone during their career in MLB. The best argument Trammell supporters have in their quest for his enshrinement is that many people feel Trammell was superior to Ozzie Smith, a contemporary of his who waltzed into Cooperstown on the first ballot with 91.7 percent of the vote. Simmons may not have the hardware of Hall of Fame catching peers Gary Carter and Carlton Fisk, but he really isn't that far off. He was up for Hall of Fame consideration in 2008, but he fell short of enshrinement once again. generally a low batting average used to be a bad thing and the only way to make the hall as a sub 300 hitter used to be hitting 500+ home runs (killebrew). His 1,330 walks ranks 36th all time and his 606 stolen bases ranks fifth. Torre was a nine-time All-Star and the 1971 NL MVP after batting .363 with 230 hits and 137 RBI. He led the National League in batting in 1890 and was credited with being among the first shortstops to give defensive signals and backup second base on throws. From 1996-2006, through his age-31 season, Rolen produced 54.4 of his 69.9 career fWAR. More about data coverage Share & Export He ended his career with a .293 average and 1,977 hits. In five years, he will enter the Hall of Fame as one of the . From age 26 to 28, DiMaggio served during World War II, losing three peak seasons serving overseas as many players of his era did. Before that, O'Doul had some great seasons as a left fielder after being converted from a pitcher at the age of 31. What is the highest career batting average for an MLB player who is not in the Hall of Fame? Arguably the best designated hitter of all time, Martinez was very similar to Baines but with a little bit more hardware. You won't find Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe or Eddie Cicotte on this list. He was the 1997 NL MVP after hitting .366 with 49 home runs, 130 RBI and 33 stolen bases. Although his case was one of 10 reviewed by a special committee in 2008, Ferrell's numbers fell short. Good ole Donnie Baseball Don Mattingly hit .307 and is not in the Hall of Fame. And replacing him with Jose Abreu, who just posted a 137 wRC+ and is a career .292/.354/.506 hitter is an unbelievable win for this front office. . Since McCarthy was not BETTER than any other Hall of Famer, he also has a "zero" in front of his name. McCormick won 265 games over just 10 seasons, topping the 40-win mark twice. There are a lot of players who are on the outside looking in, despite being superior to some players who are already enshrined. The year before he left, Travis led the AL with 218 hits and batted .359, two points higher than Joe DiMaggio in his year of "The Streak." His play on the field, though, is worthy of enshrinement. It was one of the truly remarkable runs of success in the decade. He drove home 1,707 runs while scoring 1,524 times. Everybody concentrates on Gooden's squandered talent, and rightly so. That is clear from his numbers: a .312 batting average and a .418 on . Look for your favorite MLB slugger in this impressive list of baseball's top 500 career batting leaders. No advertising or spamming is permitted. The Worst Starts To Hall Of Fame Careers. Starting Pitcher: Roger Clemens Roger Clemens hurls a pitch in his rookie year with the Red Sox in 1984. As a result, his final career numbers don't match up with the great pitchers of his generation. But others are there for good. The highest number of games he played in after the age of 29 was 109 in 1951. Ortiz ranks first among all players who spent 50% of their career at designated hitter in home runs, RBIs and doubles (632). That can happen when you play during the same time as Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, Roberto Clemente and Frank Robinson. There's a legitimate case for him to garner support on the Hall of Fame ballot. Thomas was the designated hitter in only 56.42 percent of the games he played in, while Molitor's percentage was even lower at 43.76. Browning compiled a .341 batting average over 13 seasons starting in 1882. Richardson played just 12 years in the major leagues, appearing in the World Series in seven of them. The total was higher than Orlando Cepeda, Ron Santo and Bill Mazeroski. He was a six-time All-Star and won 20 games three times. Dunn finished his career with a lowly .234 batting average. McGwire was a 12-time All-Star, finished in the top seven in MVP voting seven times and was the 1987 Rookie of the Year after belting 49 home runs, an MLB-record for rookies. Caruthers pitched for three teams from 1884 to 1892 and was a two-time 40-game winner. in double plays turned by a first baseman six times in his career (cover photo: Denver Post) Lolich won three games in the series, out-dueling Bob Gibson during his signature season in Game 7 to win the series for the Tigers. A sturdy third sacker, listed at 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds during his playing career, Rolen - just the ninth third basemen elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA - played 17 seasons from 1996 through 2012, splitting his time between the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays and Reds. He might never have been a superstar, much of a defender, or someone I'd seriously consider voting into the Hall of Fame, but with 150 more hits, he'd probably have been a first ballot inductee. Vander Meer had a losing record over the course of his career, and that will likely keep him out of the Hall of Fame. Over his final seven seasons, he topped 130 games played just once. He topped 20 wins for the Browns in four consecutive seasons, maxing out at a league-leading 27 wins in 1921. A young and promising Derringer was traded from the Cardinals to the Reds in 1932 for Hall of Famer Leo Durocher, and he would go on to become one of the great Reds pitchers of all time. He has a .279 average with a .350 OBP, 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs and 312 steals to go along with nine. 300 career average used to be an important part of an Hall of fame career. Maz got in because of his glove. Total WAR. He collected 3,166 career hits, which included 636 doubles and 477 home runs. By the time it came to vote for Freehan in 1982, his numbers paled in comparison to those catching at the time. The righty went 48-16 and struck out 417 batters in 587 innings. Bartell didn't have the hitting prowess of Cobb, but he did have a fine career nevertheless. John was another compiler, but the fact that he was able to stick around long enough to compile those statistics is incredible in itself. He was a mainstay in the Cubs' rotation for 16 years and accumulated 201 wins in his career. He is second all time in saves with 424, the most ever by a lefty pitcher. And the adage seems to hold true since every player who has 3000 hits and has been eligible for the Hall of Fame has been elected (with the exception of Rafael Palmeiro who has been . If in doubt, leave it out. . His peak came in 1967 when he finished with 29 percent of the vote, ahead of 10 future Hall of Famers, including pitchers Hal Newhouser and Bob Lemon. I don't think Votto catches him in the power numbers even with 8 . He didn't top 100 strikeouts in any of his final 11 seasons. Bagwell led the NL in home runs in 1996, scored 100 runs nine times and drove in 100 runs eight times. He was a Rookie of the Year winner, seven-time All-Star, MVP recipient, and thrice a top-10 finisher in the MVP race. Its taken him a bit to reach both the magic numbers of 3,000 and 500, but he seems determined to get there. Pinson is a somewhat forgotten star of the 1960s Reds and a great bat to have atop the lineup. Mullane was anambidextrous pitcher who compiled 284 wins from 1881 to 1894. Williams got moderate support on the Hall of Fame ballot on a few occasions. He made seven straight All-Star games in the 1980s and has three top-seven MVP finishes. He was the starting pitcher in the 1956 All-Star Game on a team featuring Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. If there was a Hall of Fame for baseball names, Shocker would be an unquestioned first-ballot entry. Hodges lost three years early in his career to World War II, causing his breakout as a player to be delayed until he was 25 years old. For eight straight years he made the AL All-Star team and finished in the top 20 for AL MVP voting. "Bad Bill" Dahlen's career was split between the 19th and 20th centuries, but it qualifies here since he played more games in the 1900s than he did the 1800s. Bullying, racism, personal attacks, harassment, or discrimination is prohibited. There just is no way to pick and choose who definitely did use steroids, who didn't and just what kind of impact they had on their play. Blue burst onto the scene as a 21-year-old in 1971, his first full season in the majors. 97. HR Rank All Time. An excellent defender, Richardson won five straight Gold Gloves and finished second to Mantle in the 1962 AL MVP voting. Don Mattingly was a New York Yankee his entire career and would definitely be in the hall of fame if not for his back problems that developed later in his career. His name showed up in the Mitchell Report, but it came without the hard evidence like shipping receipts or direct accusations that others had. Evans played tremendous defense at third base and belted 414 career home runs, but received just eight votes the only year he appeared on the MLB Hall of Fame ballot. As of this writing, Cabrera was also just one homer away from No. He has finished no worse than eighth in Hall of Fame voting in his three years on the ballot, topping 32 percent each time. Starting in 1953, Pierce made the All-Star game seven out of the next nine years and received MVP votes in five seasons. Stephens was one of the top hitting shortstops of the 1940s and received MVP votes for nine straight seasons from 1942 to 1951. He had set a major league record with 59 straight scoreless innings, and in four of his first five full seasons, he had an ERA of 3.06 or lower. Only five hitters have a higher career batting average with at least 10,000 PA since 1945: Tony Gwynn (.338), Wade Boggs (.328), Rod Crew (.328), Stan Musial (.328), and Roberto Clemente (.317). Simmons was an eight-time All-Star despite playing his career in the National League alongside Carter and Johnny Bench. A-Rods unpopularity with the public and his suspensions for PED use means hell likely require a ticket to visit Cooperstown for the forseeable future. Williams was one of the National League's first great home run hitters. Herman was an excellent hitter in the 1920s and 1930s, even if he never did really break through to the elite level. He finished his career with a 211-169 record. In the era between 1965 and 1990, Foster was the only player to hit 50 home runs. Coombs, however, didn't have the longevity of his teammates and faded fast. Yet while Rice and Dawson were elected to the Hall of Fame, Parker only received 24.5 percent of the vote in his second year on the ballot and went down from there. His .948 OPS ranks 21st all time. McInnis was an excellent, fundamentally sound first baseman in the early part of the 20th century for the A's and Red Sox. From 1988 to 1993, he batted .234 and averaged just 15 homers a season. Kuenn won the AL Rookie of the Year in 1953, then led all shortstops in putouts and assists the following year. The three-time 20-game winner finished his career with a 170-91 record for a .651 winning percentage, good for 27th all time. He had more votes than players like Ralph Kiner, Chuck Klein, Lefty Grove and Lloyd Waner. Boone was arguably the greatest defensive catcher of a generation that also included Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Carlton Fisk. He won just 43 games over his final seven seasons. He lingered on the Hall of Fame ballot for the full 15-year run, never really threatening to be elected or dropped off the ballot. He played five years in the NA before the league morphed into the National League. Mays hit his 500th blast during a career-best 52-homer campaign for the Giants in 1965. There has been a "rule of thumb" in baseball for quite some time that any player who accumulates 3000 hits in his career will be elected to the Hall of Fame. Cavarretta got excellent support in Hall of Fame balloting in the 1970s, peaking in 1975 when he received 35.6 percent of the vote. He played for five teams over 22 years and was a well-respected, professional hitter everywhere he went. Dark received constant moderate support during his 15-year run on the MLB Hall of Fame ballot, frequently drawing more support than current Hall of Famers Bill Mazeroski, Richie Ashburn and Nellie Fox. The years he did play, though, he was unquestionably one of the top hitters in the league. !rogermaris.com, Maris' career batting average was .260, which is minuscule compared to other greats like Hank Aaron and Ted Williams who both surpassed .300, that number being considered to be the gold standard for a hitter. Ryan was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999. Bold denotes active player Stats through end of the 2008 season. Beltre put up amazing numbers before retiring after the 2018 season. The tragedy of Munson is well-known, and his stature as the unquestioned leader of the Yankees made it even more difficult to take. Uh, let me try to explain. He is one of only four pitchers to strike out 300 batters in a season three times since 1900. Oliva was a terrific hitter for the Twins in the 1960s and 1970s. The general rule is that 3,000 career hits is an automatic ticket to induction in the Hall of Fame and that generally remains the case, though there are a handful still on the outside looking in due to situations of their own making. He had four top-four finishes in Cy Young award voting, winning the award unanimously in 1988. White was the first-ever batter in National Association history. As shown in Table 5, seven former members of the Career .300 Hitters Club finished their major-league careers with .296 batting averages. McNally may have had a short peak with the Baltimore Orioles, but what a peak it was. The Hall of Fame case for Keith Hernandez starts with his brilliant glove-work at first base. Trammell played for 20 years, all for the Detroit Tigers, and was a six-time All-Star. Minimum of 1000 IP, 3000 PA, 500 games (fielding, 500 IP for Ps), 200 stolen base attempts (catchers) or 80 stolen base attempts (baserunners only since 1951) or 100 decisions for career and active leaderboards for rate statistics. He didn't get his start until he was 26 and lasted just 12 years in the bigs, compiling a 166-112 record. The plaque dedicated to Sanford 'Sandy' Koufax at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New . Buckner won the 1980 NL batting title as a member of the Chicago Cubs and had two seasons of 200+ hits. According to not in WC! Despite his longevity, Baines never won a World Series, never led the league in a major category and the only major award he won was the Silver Slugger award in 1989. Even though he hasn't played a Major League game in 109 years, Van Haltren still holds the National League record for reaching base in 60 straight games, accomplishing the feat in 1893. Nettles was a superior defender who finished fifth and sixth in the American League MVP voting in 1977 and 1978, respectively. One of the great power and speed combination players of all time, Bonds was just the second player to ever hit 300 home runs and steal 300 bases in a career, joining Willie Mays in that group. Staub was an excellent player early in his career, and by the age of 27, he was already a five-time All-Star. Nicknamed the "Louisville Slugger," Browning was the inspiration for naming the famous bat after he purchased bats from theHillerich & Bradsby Company. McCarthy had 170 Win Shares but only 14.6 WAR, for a Hall of Fame Value of 228.4. Maris' lifetime numbers simply don't stack up, as he tailed off dramatically after the age of 29. Lofton was a 6-time all-star and a 4-time gold glove award winner who finished his career with nearly 2500 hits, over 1500 runs scored and 622 stolen bases. A remarkable career largely lost to time will take center stage this . Home Runs. He won eight Gold Gloves and finished his career with a .313 average and 383 home runs. Hes basically a forgotten star at this point. From 1973 to the conclusion of the 2017 season, only nine players appeared in 1,000 or more games at DH. During that time, Harder made four straight All-Star games. O'Doul is in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and is credited with helping to popularize the sport in Japan in the 1930s. Hell be a first-ballot inductee for the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class. Hes first eligible for Cooperstown in 2024. The 1969 Cy Young award winner, Cuellar won 20 games four times and finished his career with 185 wins. Buffinton authored one of the most incomprehensible statistical seasons in baseball history in 1884. Rose has more hits than anyone whos ever picked up a bat, but his decision to bet on baseball has kept him the sports most famous living outsider. He was one of the better fielding second basemen of his time. However, as we'll see, he was an underrated performer as an offensive player. career 300 hitters not in hall of fame. McInnis was a fine defender who set numerous fielding records as a first baseman. The 1978 AL Rookie of the Year played all 19 years of his career with the Tigers. The list includes everyone from John Kruk, a 10-year veteran who hit .302, to Tigers legend Ty Cobb, who hit an MLB-record .366. Randolph made the All-Star game as a second baseman for the Yankees five times during his careerno small feat while playing in the same league as Lou Whitaker, Frank White and Bobby Grich. He's 30 hits short of 2,500, 12 homers short of 300, nine points short of a career .300 batting average (he was above the mark until 2009), five points short of a .400 on-base percentage (he. In addition to being a winning pitcher for the Yanks during eight regular seasons, he excelled in the World Series, accumulating a 4-1 record with a 2.60 ERA over seven starts. His .564 slugging percentage ranks 14th all time. 10-07-2016, 07:41 AM. He was a key piece in four World Series titles for the Yankees, delivering numerous clutch hits along the way. Bill Buckner Only four players who are eligible for the Hall of Fame and not enshrined have more hits than Buckner's. Research is still ongoing and we'll continue to publish updates as more information becomes available. Sain received support for the Hall of Fame in 1975 when he received 123 votes in his final year on the ballot. Heres a look at the 20 most prolific hitters who arent in the Hall of Fame. He made eight straight All-Star games and received MVP votes in each of those years. Claim to fame: One of the first longtime designated hitters to build some support for Cooperstown, Baines hit .289 lifetime with 2,866 hits and 384 home runs. However, his ability as one of the game's top sluggers cannot be denied. Stephens also was an AL All-Star seven times. NL in hits in 1999 with 206. Arguably the second-best leadoff hitter of all time, Raines' stats have gained morecredenceas on-base percentage becomes a more valued statistic. Gonzalez racked up his total over 19 seasonas and 10,531 major league plate appearances and led the. He batted .398 that season and led the league with a .465 on-base percentage. Herman's best seasons came in 1929 and 1930 when he combined to hit .387 over the two-year span. Well, we've got Shoeless Joe Jackson in 4th place overall at .3558, but he's technically ineligible because of his role in the Black Sox scandal. He finished in the top five in Cy Young voting three times, made seven All-Star games and received MVP votes in four seasons. Here are some more .300+ hitters who aren't in the Hall: Lefty O'Doul-the man hit .349 in his career! Gonzalez was suspected of steroid abuse and was named in Jose Canseco's book Juiced. Murphy was hurt by a severe drop-off in production after the age of 31. Pujols will obviously make the Hall of Fame one day, but right now the biggest question is if he reached the top 10 for most hits ever. Garvey was a durable player who played in 160 or more games nine times and won four Gold Glove awards at first base. John's 288 career wins are the highest total of any eligible non-Hall of Famer, and he is one of just eight pitchers to start at least 700 games in his career. The three-time All-Star went 217-191 for his career. Playing in the infield with Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez and Johnny Bench, Concepcion was a nine-time All-Star who also won two Silver Slugger awards. He received MVP votes in eight seasons, finishing in the top 10 in six of those years. For all of his accomplishments, though, he only made four All-Star games and had just three top-10 MVP finishes. Shocker was a workhorse for the Browns and Yankees from 1916 to 1928. This slideshow ranks the top 100 players who are eligible for Hall of Fame induction, but they currently do not have that plaque in Cooperstown. He hit 136 homers over his final five seasons after hitting just 159 the previous 10 seasons. DiMaggio played just 11 years for the Red Sox, but had a big impact as the team's everyday center fielder playing next to Ted Williams. Johnson played just 13 years, but topped 100 RBI eight times, 100 runs six times and 25 home runs six times. Whitaker was a solid all-around player for the Tigers, but never really excelled in any one area on an elite level. He will earn a salary of $32 million for the 2023 season, the Tigers will buy out his 2024 option for $8 million, and he will retire. That came 10 years after he clubbed 51 for the Giants in 1955, the longest stretch between 50-homer seasons for any player. The 3,000 Hits Club is a collection of Major League Baseball players who have recorded 3,000 or more regular-season hits during their big league career. Needless to say, he won the NL MVP that season. McNally was part of one of the great pitching staffs of all time along with Jim Palmer, Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson. While his career .263 average is not too impressive, the .394 OBP and .588 slugging percentage more than make up for it, especially when we add his 584 career homers. Please seek professional guidance. He was a key pitcher on the great A's teams of the 1970s and finished his 17-year career with a record of 209-161. Ichiro is only renting space on this list. His career total of 1,614 walks ranks 11th all time. Considered one of the top dead-ball era players not in the Hall of Fame, Daubert was an excellent all-around players for the Brooklyn Superbas and Cincinnati Reds in the early 20th century. Batting average: .440, Hugh Duffy, 1894 . His 137 career OPS+ ranks behind only Mantle, Berkman and Jones among modern switch-hitters. Parrish was considered one of the top all-around catchers of the 1980s along with Gary Carter, Carlton Fisk and Ted Simmons. Helton is one of only two players in baseball history to have at least. He led the American League in at-bats seven times and took advantage to pile up over 2,700 hits only 37 of which were home runs. Best 3 Year Period. Notes: A minimum of 1,000 career games played and 1,000 career at-bats are needed to make this list, raw averages are presented to further clarify the one-thousand greatest career batting averages of all-time, and a bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season. Reulbach led the league in winning percentage for three straight years from 1906 to 1908 when he compiled a record of 60-15 over the three-year period. In 1951 star of the 20th century for the forseeable future his age-31 season Rolen. 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